Afternoon delight
by Admiralkirk
Summary: After their last encounter Nicole decides to see how Tails is holding up. She finds him over worked and makes a suggestion. Sequel to Tonight we are together, sorry about the title I personally think it sucks.
**A/N So this is the follow up to the last one shot I did about Tails and Nicole, you haven't seen it? Go back and read it if you feel like it. Like I said before in the last one I'm still trying to figure out exactly how the comic timeline worked, I apologize if that sounds like an excuse but I am sorry if I mess something up.**

 **Besides that I also want to know if I'm doing Nicole right, like her speech and stuff.**

 **Lastly if you haven't read the last one shot let me explain. This is the second of a few one shots about these two. If you feel confused by some of things mentioned you may want to go back and read the first one shot, it's called "Tonight we are together" have fun.**

"Alright almost done" Tails tightened the last bolts of the engine he'd been working on for nearly an hour. It was his last scheduled job for the night and all he had to do was put the thing back inside the tractor.

It had been a bear who payed him to do this, he was desperate for it to be done before the season began so Tails put it high on his list.

"One last tug for good measure… there" he checked his watch but then heard a ring.

"Who could is stopping by so late?" it was nearly six in the afternoon.

Walking out of his workshop he passed through a door and headed for the front desk of his store and smiled. Surprised he found a friendly face.

"Nicole? What's going on?" he cleaned his hands with a cloth.

"Hello Tails, it is good to see you" she used her standard greeting.

"Good to see you too, What brings you all they way across the city?" The fox quickly grabbed his to-do list and checked off the engine planning to finish it off tonight.

"I came to speak with you" she smiled.

He found it kind of amusing, of course she came all this way to speak to him, nobody else lived in this area of town and she came into his store. Sometimes she spoke the obvious but he rolled with it.

"Alright, well I was just finishing up with something so if you want you can come in and talk while I finish it?" he waved a hand to lead her back inside.

She smiled accepting the offer and followed and looked around the workshop "You have a lot of projects going I see?"

He nodded "Ya, been busy lately, well always" he corrected himself "Ever since I got all those good reviews business doubled"

Nicole frowned asking "That must leave you with no time to yourself"

He shrugged "I work in a service industry, you either give service or don't, that simple" he always had a strange feeling that if he told people he was too busy and would have to wait too long they'd simply stop coming, last thing he wanted was losing customers.

"What happened to you inventing things?" she was worried he had no time anymore.

"Work pays for it"

"But it takes up all your time and energy?" she asked further.

He sighed and looked away "Well… ya…. I hardly have much time anymore. Sometimes I stay during the night to get stuff done and just sleep here" Sonic knew he did that but he'd kept quiet and told nobody else.

"Have you considered hiring someone to help?" the lynx smiled, liking the idea of someone being near him and being someone to speak to. It might not have been obvious to everyone but Tails came off kind and smiling to anyone who approached him but outside of that he was an introvert.

He found it hard to open up to new people, people he fought beside during the fight against Eggman and so many others he grew trust in. He'd grown a strong warriors bond with the freedom fighters and anyone else he had worked with. But other people, something about them, he found really hard to open up to. Luckily he'd fought alongside a lot of people in the past.

Not to say he didn't like people, he was willing to help anyone, it's why he started this business and kept his prices low. Even after all this time the city was still coming back from all the fighting. He put himself far from the castle away from the wealthy parts of the city in the weaker less stable parts and started it here. This place was his way of continuing to help where he could and made it as accessible to as many people as possible. He'd used the excuse in the past that he didn't make enough money for a second hire, but like he said, business doubled.

"Well, ya… but…. Nobody really responds to the ads" he was clearly lying.

Instead of calling him out about it she accepted his answer "So what were you working on right now?"

His tone changed at the more familiar subject "An engine for a bear. He's a farmer and needs it running for the coming season, I told him to stop by tomorrow and get it back" he motioned to it.

She nodded and analyzed it quickly "It seems in good shape"

"Ya, I pretty much need to get it back into the tractor and it will be all good" he walk over to an engine hoist and rolled it over to the finished engine.

"May I help?" Nicole asked as he did this.

He thought briefly "Well…. Don't see why not, sure" he shrugged then waved for her to come over.

She did as he asked and within a minute he was telling her what to do.

"Ok so we use these chains to lift it up and hold it so make sure it's attached well" he explained showing her from his side. The lynx repeated the process and Tails lifted the heavy engine off the floor.

"Now we got to put it in just right, let me do a quick check on my numbers" He did a few measurements not wanting to do it again.

When he was done he showed Nicole how to put it in properly and sighed happy to see it was in right. "Nice job" he said to her.

Nicole watched as Tails finished up and thought about the last time they met. It had been a strange experience. In the moment she just went with all her instincts and had fun but in hindsight she realized what she had felt was nothing like she had in the past. She had no idea why but she wanted to know how he felt about that party, curiosity burning through her body.

Although she also had a strange feeling to not be too direct and just flat out ask so asked.

"So last time we met, I must thank you again"

He looked away from his work to her and smiled "No problem, you deserved it"

"I wasn't a burden, I wouldn't have wanted to ruin your night?" hands fidgeting behind her back subconsciously.

Tails just scoffed with a smile "No way, I wasn't doing anything that night, besides I had a lot of fun. Had I not asked you to be my impromptu date I'd probably have just sat around all night, maybe even left early"

She smile and loosened up a little hearing that "I'm glad I helped make your night enjoyable as well"

He nodded finishing up his work and asked "Can ya hand me that cloth?"

The lynx leaned over and handed it to him, he used it to clean some spots on the engine then sighed "Alright all done" his hands dirty again.

He began to wipe his hands down as Nicole asked "You work so much yet you seem to never change your physique?" after all these years she had expected his body to develop and at the very least gain some muscle tone.

He shrugged "Maybe I don't eat enough"

"You don't?" concern in her voice.

"Sometimes, I skip lunch occasionally to keep up" he didn't see a problem with it.

"Missing lunch will not benefit you"

"Ya and falling behind on my schedule won't either"

She quickly scanned around the room and spotted his list and sighed "Tails you are ahead of your schedule, besides this, which you promised to finish today"

She heard a light grumble from him until he said "Take a day off and it catches up fast"

Like normal Tails invested in work a lot, he hardly left the place anymore. Clearly he felt he had nowhere else to go and also felt he needed to help people. He'd grown up being a hero, protecting and helping people. So it must be hard to stop thinking that way and live for yourself. They'd had him checked out once under doctor's orders to see if he had a form of PTSD but he was fine. He just simply grew up as a hero and couldn't stop being that and just live for now.

"Tails you don't need to work all the time, you helped save Mobius. I'm sure anyone would say you deserve to chill out once in awhile" Nicole smiled.

"Ya, but it's…. hard. I…." he didn't know exactly what to say so Nicole continued.

"When was the last time you went flying just because you could?"

The question must have surprised him because he paused "I… can't remember… must have been months ago" he'd flown to send and receive stuff but never for just a leisurely fly. Even then, last time he flew at all was months ago since he had found someone new to supply him parts for a cheaper price who also delivered to him.

"There is still light in the sky, perhaps you should take this time to do so" She offered.

He smiled "Ya, I think I will" he walked off to a corner of the room "Just need to find my scarf, gloves, and goggles"

Nicole smiled and was about to say goodbye and leave when he asked "Hey, you wanna come. As you know I got another seat" he came walking back with his new attire. Red scarf on his neck and goggles around his head. Currently up on his forehead. And beige with red lining gloves on his hands.

The lynx smiled at the offer "I really should be heading back to the castle before it's dark"

"Don't worry about it, we'll be done before the sun goes down" his open attitude not too strange to her.

"But then I will surely be left in the dark on my way home" the lynx said not feeling very safe.

"Tails noticed this and asked "What's wrong" sure anyone would find it uncomfortable walking through the night in the darkness, but she'd be in the nicer part of town by the time the sun went fully down.

"I have spent a few nights out and none ever turn out well, peoples…. Opinion of me only become more hostile when less people are around" she looked away having a strange feeling that made her not want to seem so weak.

"What!?" Tails growled. His teeth gritted as he snarled, his tails even getting bushier.

Nicole stayed quiet expecting that reaction.

"If anyone has hurt you, tell me, or Sonic, or any of your friends. We'd help you" he frowned.

"Tails I have but there isn't much Sonic and Sally could do anyway. They don't have the power to invoke justice on citizens. If they chose to speak to the public about me and defend me many citizens would turn on them and ruin their reputation. Worse if the council actually, by some miracle, stood up for me they'd all be voted out or maybe even worse" Explaining it all made her realize just how fragile her life was here and how much unintentional power she had at the same time.

Her reasoning left Tails speechless, her logic was impeccable. All that would happen by her fighting back, or having others fight for her, would end badly. He hated it but she had to take it and sighed "Fine if you need to go home now, than go. I'll walk with you if you want" he wanted to make sure she was safe.

"No, you should spend your time relaxing, I will head back now" she turned but Tails stopped her again.

"I got an idea, why don't you stay for the night. You can come along and you don't have to head home by yourself" he gave an inviting smile.

Nicole thought "I wouldn't want to be a burden"

"Of course not" he waved it off.

"Well… I would have to inform Sonic or Sally"

"I'll do that" Tails reassured "Just wait here I'll be back" he went to the front desk the scarf trailing behind him from his neck and picked up the phone and dialed for Sonic.

He heard it ring and after three tones Sonics voice came.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me Tails"

"Hey buddy, nice to hear ya. What's up?"

Tails quickly wondered how he'd even explain but just started.

"Nicole stopped by and made me remember I haven't gone flying in awhile. She's gonna join and spend the night here so she doesn't have to go back in the dark" he explained leaning against the counter.

He heard a chuckle "So that's where Nicole wanted to go" another chuckle "So she's staying the night eh?" his tone highly suggestive.

The fox blushed realizing suddenly what it suggested as well and said "N-no… nothing like that, come on get your mind out of the gutter"

"I'm just teasing you little bro, but on a serious note it's good to hear you're gonna do something relaxing. Have fun. I'll let Sally know, thanks"

"Alright, thanks, see you around" Tails smiled and both hung up.

He sighed recomposing himself since Sonics comment threw him off and took a deep breath before walking back.

"Good news, Sonic is ok with it, so wanna head out?" He stopped seeing her looking at his stuff "Something interest you?" he smiled.

Nicole looked over to him and then back "These blue prints seem old" she'd done scans and found them to be very old and covered in dust.

Tails scratched the back of his head and sighed "Ya, like I said I'm too busy to do my hobbies too often"

"According to my scans this has been here for over a year" she lifted it and found the dust had made a perfect square around it and underneath was untouched.

The fox sighed frowning "Ya…." He didn't have much else to say about it.

She would have brought up getting help again but he'd just avoid the subject so said "Anyway, let's get on the plane before it gets too dark"

"Ya, good idea" he led her through a back door and headed towards the airstrip.

Once there he led her to a small hangar and pulled out a key to a small door next to the larger one.

His cheeks pulled into a warm smile as he unlocked the door. Pushing it open he flipped a switch to his right turning on all the ceiling lights. He took a long deep breath in through his nose and exhaled. The familiar smell bringing back old memories.

"It truly has been too long" he sighed walking further inside followed by Nicole who had smile on her face as well. She was glad to see him happy. She smiled even more as his eyes layed on what he had once referred to as his life work.

The Tornado, oh how much it looked like it had over five years ago. But she could see the subtle changes, the slight differences to the frame that increased it's aerodynamics, or the extra exhaust pipe to expel air caught by the large custom scoop just behind the six prop engine which was powered by double super chargers. Yes, even Nicole felt nostalgia seeing the old plane.

When he approached the aircraft he ran his hand along the side wiping away built up dust and frowned as he slowly wiped it off his hand with his work shirt.

"Hey Girl, I know it's been awhile. I'm sorry, but I thought we could go fly before the sun goes all the way down." he said to the plane. Of course he knew it wasn't real he was more or less running off emotions and just started talking. It was somewhat amusing to Nicole anyway.

"Just give me a minute, we'll be ready to go soon" he said once again to the yellow biplane. He walked around it to the other side and reached a coat hanger on the wall. Hanging over it was an old pilot jacket. He carefully slipped it on finding it still fit "Fits like a glove"

He then realized Nicole would need goggles and a jacket as well and turned "I'm sorry, I forgot. You'll need a pair and a jacket atleast"

Nicole smiled at his consideration but said "I appreciate the thought but remember I am just a bunch of nanobots, cold and air will not bother me"

Tails chuckled but then said puffing his chest out and changed his voice to something that sounded cooler "Nonsense, when you fly with me you need to dress for the part" He walked over to a closet nearby and pulled out the old goggles he used to use. They were old timey pilot goggles and had a jacket as well. It looked less used then his own jacket but it looked old as well.

"Sorry it's kinda old" he said reaching out to hand the jacket to her.

The lynx smiled "It's alright, thank you" she said slipping on the old jacket.

Tails reached out and slipped the goggles on getting around her ears, which dwarfed even his large fox ears.

Tails looked at her with judging eyes but smiled "You should make that your new look. You look nice" he complimented walking around her to get the plane ready grabbing a small clipboard with the pre-lift off checklist.

The lynx looked away hiding a small blush "You really think so?"

"Ya, but if you want to keep your normal look I got no problem with that either, either way you look good" he was glad he was facing the plane because he was blushing saying something like that to her.

Nicole smiled from that and waited patiently for him to finish the check.

"Alright everything seems to still be in check, could you open the door for me?" Tails asked.

Nicole nodded and walked to the large door and pulled a chain slowly pulling up the large door.

She turned and found Tails waiting to help her up into the plane. She walked over and when he made a step for his hands she used it to step up onto the wing. She was able to climb into the seat in the first seat closer to the front. Tails used a small step on the body to get to the seat just behind Nicole's.

Testing the hydraulics he found all the controls working properly and said "Ignition" he turned the keys and the engine sputtered until with a loud rev the propeller began to spin quickly gaining speed.

He taxied out onto the runway quickly poked Nicoles shoulder. She turned and he motioned for her to put on a headset with a mic so they could talk over the engine and air.

"Alright so just got to let the tower know we'll be in the air" he spoke to her switching channels.

Within a minute he had let them know and spoke to her again "Alright you ready?"

"Of course"

"Alright, hitting the gas" he pushed the throttle up and the engine began to rev louder and spin faster.

The plane began to roll forward down the run way and gain speed, In time the tail lifted off the ground and after a few more seconds Tails pulled back the stick slowly lifting off the ground.

"Everything is reading normal, old girl still just as good as the old days" he smiled.

"I'm glad the Tornado is performing optimally" Nicole said looking over the side as they slowly flew further and further from the ground.

Soon they were flying above the forest that surrounded the city. Nicole smiled thinking about how they'd fought so hard keep the world so green from people like Eggman.

Tails noticed and saw she had to crane hard to look over due to the seat being kinda low and said "Here let me help" he tilted the plane just a little so she didn't have to work so hard just to see over the edge.

She thanked him but soon looked out to the horizon, the sun just touching it as it began to disappear.

Once reaching a certain height Tails leveled out and began to simply fly straight enjoying the leisurely ride.

Nicole then asked "You're not gonna perform any tricks are you" despite being a computer she wasn't fearless.

"Not unless you want me to" he chuckled "No I have something else in mind, just wait for the sun to go down a bit more"

Nicole looked back at him but he wasn't speaking more. Her curiosity now peaked but was forced to wait.

The sun was now one quarter under the horizon when Tails started flipping switches.

"Alright I know this may sound crazy but go sit on the wings"

Nicole looked back "How is that crazy, we've done that before?"

"Well because I'm gonna join you" he said with a smart smirk.

"What!? You need to fly the plane!?"

Tails chuckled "I installed an auto pilot awhile back. When I used to fly out for my parts it was a good time to actually sleep. It's advanced enough to correct itself for all but the most extreme weather"

She nodded, she believed he had been able to make it and stood out of her seat. He slowed the plane down to make it easier so she wouldn't lose her balance.

She stopped after grabbing the first handle "What if I fall?"

Tails casually explained "Then I'll jump out and catch you, we could easily get back to the city, the plane will land itself when it runs low on fuel"

She wasn't quite sure about having to rely in being caught but continued on. With the plane slowed down she found it fairly easy and was soon laying along the wing holding onto the handles.

Within a minute she saw Tails lay down in the spot next to her.

"Ok so you got me here, why?"

Tails just smirked and flicked his head forward. She looked and saw the beautiful sky turning orange as the sun descended further. Without the upper wing over them the entire sky was in view and it was beautiful.

The lynx found herself mesmerized by the sight; it was one of those special moments. It reminded her of when Sally showed her a special cave to explain why not to destroy it even if guaranteed their escape.

Tails looked out as well but he'd occasionally look over to her as well finding her face to be just as amusing.

Nicole smiled and said "I've never felt the air go through my fur like this" when she travelled she stayed in her PDA form.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

"Soothing" she closed her eyes focusing just on the feel of it and sighed happily. Tails just smiled and did the same liking the familiar feeling.

They sat in silence until the sun was three quarters gone and Tails said "I'm sorry Nicole but it's almost dark out we got to head back" Flying during the night was dangerous, even with his piloting skills he wasn't in the mood to test fate.

She momentarily looked disappointed but nodded in agreement probably running the numbers realizing they'd be back just as the sun disappeared.

Tails slid back and climbed back into his seat first since he had the further one to get to and watched as Nicole did the same.

While transitioning from the wing to the frame her foot slipped.

Two things happened almost too fast for the eyes to see. Nicole froze in place grabbing onto the two handles with death grips. Tails jumped from his seat grabbing her by the hips.

Both noticed the awkward position, both their eyes drifting to where his hands were. Half a second later Tails' cheek burned red and was wide eyed, pupils tiny little dots. He'd have let go like normal but he wasn't sure if she would slip without him.

"Tails…. I'm ok" her loose foot finding a safe spot.

"Oh… uhhh… ya" he pulled his hands away and crawled back into the pilot seat looking away nervously.

She knew how bad that looked and also knew he had just been trying to help "Tails, it's ok. Thank you" she was just glad he was concerned for her safety that he'd react so fast. He simply nodded nervously.

Taking the final few steps she was back in the seat as well and finally relaxed. She felt the plane bank to the left and begin to turn around and head back to the airstrip.

Nicole could tell Tails was purposely being quiet after his little 'rescue' so decided to try and get passed it "Hey Tails, thanks for bringing me, I think I would have regretted not seeing that" she meant the sunset not his face after his rescue.

He chuckled nervously assuming that's what she meant as well "No problem Nicole anytime"

She smiled hearing that "So do you have anything important coming up?' she decided to try and make some small talk.

"Just more work to be honest" he shrugged behind her.

Nicole frowned, it sounded dull but it did allow her to bring something up again "Tails, I'm serious you should hire someone to help you out. Everyone appreciates how much you do for the people around you but you don't need to do it alone"

Unlike last time he didn't answer choosing to stay quiet, maybe he was thinking about it.

Since Tails had hit the throttle to make it back in time they were able to land minutes before the last sunlight disappeared. The fox taxied back to the small hangar reserved for his plane and hopped out taking a moment to help Nicole out as well.

Once again she thanked him for his kindness and passed the goggles and jacket to him.

He took them and placed them back inside the locker he got them from and hung up his own jacket. He led her out closing the large hangar door and headed back for his workshop. From there he headed back to his house which was minutes away and let her inside glad nobody bothered them along the way.

"So just make yourself at home, I'm gonna make something to eat quickly and head to bed…. Unless you want to talk?"

"No do what you need, you probably need your sleep anyway" she waved it off.

Tails then realized "Man I need to get used to this but did you want something?" last they met she had the ability to eat now.

She must have forgotten as well but said "Sure, what are you making?"

"Just something quick, how about mac n cheese?"

"I have heard that is good, ok" she smiled.

He got out a box and began boiling water. Remembering she could eat brought something else up "Hey, do you sleep, or have a equivalent to sleep?"

"I don't sleep in the same way you do. I sleep more like a normal computer does. My activities slow and I essentially almost turn off. Rotor has said that he's thinking of working on an upgrade for me that will activate a program during this state that will be like dreaming. Although because dreams are so mysterious to even those who have them it will probably take a long time or not happen at all" A small frown appeared on her face saddened that she might not be able to experience that.

"But I have experienced a lot of what Mobians do so it's a small thing I can't do that I can live with"

Tails listened heavily intrigued but he had to agree with Rotor, nobody knew even for sure why people dreamed at all so making a program to recreate it would be pretty futile.

Nicole then asked "If I may, can I use your television while I wait?"

"Oh sure, don't need to ask" he smiled kindly.

She nodded and sat down and watched something she and Sally watched together. It was a popular show of people showing off talents that ranged from above average singing voices to strange talents like climbing up a ladder when it's not leaning against anything then doing tricks on it without it falling.

"Oh you like Mobius got talent?" Tails recognizing it pretty easily.

Nicole nervously looked to him "Yes, Sally and I watch it a lot"

He noticed her nervousness "Hey it's cool, I can see why it's worth watching, every so often someone really good comes on and blows your away, it's worth watching to see stuff like that"

The lynx smiled glad he agreed and said "It's amazing seeing how creative and amazing people can be" she realized that could apply to a lot of their friends, but mostly in their heroic actions.

"Ya it is" Tails smiled going silent to let her watch.

Within fifteen minutes he was done and walked over with two bowls and handed one to her. She gladly accepted it and he waited to see her reaction to it. He felt like seeing her try new foods would be cool to watch for a while.

She hummed happily liking the taste and complimented his cooking.

He just shrugged "It's not that hard, I mean all you really do is boil water and add the cheese then stir" eating next to her.

"Well it's still good, thank you for hosting me"

"No problem" he chuckled, he honestly hadn't hosted anyone in awhile, always too busy. It was quite refreshing.

They sat and watched and unfortunately there was no extra amazing act today. Still some decent acts though.

Tails did the dishes and went to brush his teeth and prepared for bed bidding Nicole good night. Pulling back the covers he felt like he forgot something and walked back to hopefully figure out what it was.

Back in the living room he looked around, the feeling gnawed at his brain until he looked to the couch.

He smiled seeing Nicole 'sleeping' but quickly realized what he forgot and face palmed. Heading to a closet he reached inside and grabbed a pillow and blanket. Sure she didn't need any of this but she was always striving to be more Mobian and even the smallest of actions brought her that much closer. In this case using a pillow for comfort and a blanket to keep warm, even if cold didn't effect her.

With as much care he had could he lifted her head and placed the pillow underneath and layed the blanket over her and smiled.

With the feeling out of his mind he headed back to bed and successfully feel asleep this time.

In the morning Nicole guessed Tails had been the one to give her the blanket and pillow. Despite never asking for it she was very appreciative, to a normal person it didn't seem like much but to her it was… something. Hard to describe but it did make her feel like she'd experienced something new, waking up to be surrounded by something soft and comforting.

She thanked him for his kindness yet again but said she had to go back home. As she was leaving though Tails stopped her.

"Wait, ummm Nicole can I talk to you for just a second?" he wasn't nervous, he just looked like he wanted to say something important so she turned to listen.

"I was thinking about what you said yesterday about getting help. I was also thinking about how you said you need a new job so I was thinking… maybe you could work with me. I'd pay you and stuff and I can make any flexible schedule for you" he stuttered bit hoping it wasn't weird or out of the question.

He was happy to see a smile from her as she asked "Really? Me?"

"Ya sure I mean you're my friend, you're smart, you learn fast and it will give me a excuse to hang out with somebody I know on a regular basis"

The lynx smiled and said "I will ask Sally, I'm sure she'll agree though"

"So is that a yes?" he asked.

"Yes" she nodded.

After that they bid their goodbyes and Nicole walked home with a smile on her face.

Tails was also oddly excited, but it quickly went away as he looked at the time "I'm opening in fifteen minutes!"

 **So that's the second of this series, hope it was nice. It's shorter than the last but I hope it was just as good, or close to it.**

 **Personally I found this chapter easy to write for once. I've always liked planes so it was somewhat easy talking about it and stuff. As for why the pilot seat is behind the passenger seat for biplanes….. I have no idea.**

 **Also I mentioned in the chapter Nicole had never felt the wind for through her fur. If it wasn't clear these one shots take place in the original comic timeline. She did experience this in the newer timeline after learning her origins and flying on Tails' plane but the original didn't do that. Just incase anyone was confused.**

 **Lastly that ladder things in the show, I actually saw an act like that. It was pretty amazing.**

 **Live long and prosper**

 **Admiralkirk**


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